1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to humidifiers, and more particularly pertains to a humidifier which avoids the use of conventional filters and pads. Conventional forms of humidifiers employ pads or filters which are dipped into a water reservoir by a rotating drum, or alternatively employ spray nozzles to saturate the filters or pads. These filters or pads tend to become dirty, creating an environment for the propagation of disease causing organisms. To prevent potential respiratory illnesses from resulting, the pads and filters must be frequently changed and/or cleaned. One conventional type of humidifier employs a pad disposed over a rotating drum which picks up water from a reservoir as the drum rotates. Inlet air to a forced air furnace then passes through the pad, raising the humidity level. As scaling due to hard water and minerals deposits forming on the pad occurs, the air is less able to pass through the pad, which decreases the efficiency of the humidifier and eventually results in the pad becoming totally clogged, with no air passing through the humidifier pad whatsoever. The pad must either then be cleaned or replaced. Hard water scaling will also clog up the valve and float mechanism utilized to maintain a constant water level in the reservoir. If left unattended, the malfunctioning float valve will result in the water level in the reservoir decreasing, eventually causing complete failure of the humidifier. Additionally, in most humidifiers employing a reservoir or tray, there are certain areas of the tray where water does not circulate. This results in the formation of a scum, necessitating frequent cleaning.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of humidifiers are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a humidifier is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,846,057, which issued to R. Ilg on Feb. 23, 1932. This patent discloses a humidifier which employs a spoked wheel including a plurality of scoops for moving water from a reservoir onto screens for entrainment in an air flow. U.S. Pat. No. 1,942,502, which issued to W. Werhan et al. on Jan. 9, 1934, discloses a humidifier including a water tank regulated by a float valve and a pair of rotating spoked wheels for distributing water from the tank onto baffle plates by centrifugal force. U.S. Pat. No. 2,324,386 which issued to E. Gusy on Jul. 13, 1943, discloses a humidifier employing rotatable fans having blades immersed in a water reservoir for entraining water in an air stream. U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,127, which issued to L. Holmberg on May 11, 1976, discloses a mixing drum for establishing contact between a liquid and a gas which includes a plurality of perforated pipes disposed in a circular array and mounted for rotation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,736, which issued to D. Prosser on Jul. 10, 1979, discloses a rotating filter employing a circular array of angular channel members to collect water from a shallow pool at the bottom of a cylindrical shell. Canadian Patent No. 885,029 discloses a humidifier which employs a rotating drum having a mesh surface which is saturated by immersion in a float valve regulated water tank. The drum includes internal turbine vanes which effect rotation of the drum by power derived from the air stream of a forced air heating system.